TCDE 2018-09-12

디지털 시대의 고전 번역 II

Today's meeting notes

Prof. Kim: The text is the window through which we can see the fact. It is inevitable that we read the text carefully to understand the fact. When we get to the world of fact, when you understand it, then put the text aside for a moment, and then re-describe the fact with your own machine readable language. This is the first step of making humanities knowledge data. The next step is to try to see the whole picture of the facts. You don't have to pay much attention to the details. In many cases some details are difficult to translate to data, then you can skip them, and try to find the more important and meaningful thing which constitutes the whole structure of the knowledge. So, before we begin to produce our data we will read the Chinese text carefully again. You already read it, so it will not be difficult to translate them.

Prof. Jun: We need a macro perspective. Why Koreans did not go to sea? Many Western people found the new world through sea travel. 1400-1600 was the first global age. The goal for Eastern people was building the greatest agricultural states under Heaven. Westerners suffered from famine, too, but the ocean was the source of ambition. But in the East, King Sejong, as Korea changed from Goryeo to Joseon. Westerners pay attention to urbanization. In Korea's case, there was a ruralization from 17th to 19th centuries, opposite of London. Divergence of the dreams. Different response to food and bullion famine. The longevity of the Confucian state has long captured the mind of East Asia (Physiocratic model). In response to nomadic Yuan dynastic, Ming and Joseon were highly Confucian. Seven-year famine during King Sejong's reign. If you compare Jeolla population, it is almost empty, because of Japanese pirates. The population was further in the North. Ping -Ti Ho described the early-ripening variety was the core of the agricultural revolution in early-modern East Asia. It is more important than water control and irrigation projects for agricultural land. This technology was lost in China during NS Song period, then Joseon sent some to Ming. This knowledge is only for peasant society, but at the time it was a very hot issue in Ming and Joseon.

Cultivating Rice

• First section
  • Why is weeding mentioned in the beginning?
  • The cultivating method consists of several small processes such as plowing, sowing, weeding, harvest. There are three kinds of plowing and sowing methods, and all are closely related the variety. But weeding can be generally applied to all. Since it is general, it is mentioned before the rest. So we can change our previous translation. In the title (種稻 附 旱稻), the 경 means cultivating broadly, but in the 경종(耕種法), 경 it means plowing.
  • Change "cultivating and sowing" to "plowing and sowing"
• Second section
  • In the original text, the first period should be a comma
    • 凡水田, 上可以引水, 下可以決去。 旱則灌之, 雨則洩之者, 爲上。 --> 凡水田, 上可以引水, 下可以決去, 旱則灌之, 雨則洩之者, 爲上。
    • -->In general, terraced paddy fields should be irrigated from above and drained below, and therefore the best (fields) are those that can be irrigated during droughts and drained during the rain.
• Third section
  • Is 동월(冬月) referring to 정월(正月)? Is the part about 정월 explaining the 동월 part? Isn't 정월 spring? Because it is an annotation, it seems like an explanation of 동월.
  • We have to consider the different meaning of same hanja
• Fourth section
  • Why did they use 우(又), again? It means he talks about the second plowing, and when is the first plowing?
    • First plowing: Just after harvest to prepare for the next year (prep)
    • Second plowing: is made in the winter when the spring thaw happens (prep)
    • Third plowing: is the first week of the second month (major plowing just before sowing the seed, so it was described in detail, to make 숙(熟))
• Drain the water each time before weeding. Once weeding is complete, irrigate it. While the seedlings are still young and fragile, irrigate lightly, and when the seedlings are mature and strong, irrigate heavily.